Tension device



D. LOCKE.

TENSION'D'EVICE.

APPLICATJON FILED DEC. I4. |918. l 1,303,486. v Patented May13,`19 19.

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TENSION DEVICE. Mfru'cmou man pac. 14, ma.

Patented May 13, 1919..

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DANIEL LOCKE, 0F SUMMERFIELD, KANSAS.

TENSION DEvIcE.

Specification of Lettersv Patent.

Patented May 13, 191e.

Application filed December 14, 1918. Serial No. frltitBZS.l

`To all whom t may concern: Be it known that I,VDAANIEL LocKE, a c1t1- zen of the United States, residing at Summerfield, in the county ofMarshall and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension Devices, of

which the following is a specification. a a

The object of this invention is to provide `simple and eflicient means for maintaining after first fully described and then moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims. y

In the said drawings- I Figure l is an elevation showing my improved device applied to a horizontally swinging gate;` i r y y Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tension device illustrated in Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections taken respectively on the lines 4--4 and 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing` 'the device applied to a fence wire;

Fig. 7 is a detail section on thev line 7--7 of Fig. 6. n a

In the application of my invention to a swinging gate to prevent sagging of the same, I employ a base which is secured to the upper end of the gate post land is illustrated as consisting of a central plate 2 extending over the upper end of the post and provided at its side edges with pendent lugs or ears 3 havingA perforations 4 near their lower ends through which fastening devices 5 are inserted into the post to secure the said base in position. At the center of the main plate 1 is an opening in which is swiveled the stem 6 of a fork 7 and at the upper end of said fork, between the tines of the same, I fulcrum, as at 8, a tension lever, the fulcrum 8 being eccentric to the arm 9 of the lever. The lever may be'conveniently formed of sheet metal having its long arm or main portion rolled into tubular form, as shown at 10, and havingits edges brought together to provide a reinforcing longitudinal rib 11, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 5. The fulcrum end of the lever is laterally `or eccentrically enlarged and consists of parallel wings 12 extending from the end of the tubular portion 10. Between the wings 12 and at the edge more remote from the fulcrum 8, I mountguiding and tension rollers 13 over which the tension or guy wire 14 is trained and upon the outer side of the arm 9 of the lever I providea hook or stud 15 over and around, which the end of the said wire may be engaged, the extremity of the wire being doubled upon itself to engage said stud and being secured to the main strand of the wire by a clamp 16 of any preferred construction.` The free end of the wire is attached tothe upper bar of the gate 17, as shown at 18, and a retaining loop 19 may be secured upon the gate bar and passed over the wire, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. In the upper edgeof `the arm 9 of the lever, I provide a longitudinal series of transverse notches 20, in any one of which may be engaged the loop 21 at the upper end 'of a' `counterbalance weight 22, it being readily understood that the loop will `be engaged in one or another of said notches accordingly as it maybe desired to have the weight closer to the fulcrurn or more remote therefrom and thereby vary the effective length of the lever and, consequentlyreg"- ulate the tension as may be desirable.

The gate hinges are preferably of that type which employ a pin 23 on the post and an eye 24 on the gate encircling said pin. To prevent the gate rising from the hinges, I mount uponthe post above either hinge a locking cam 2.5 whichis pivoted upon the post and tends normally to gravitate into a position directly` over the hinge eye so that any upward movement of said eye will be resisted by the latch or locking cam but if it'be desired to remove the gate for repairs or other purposes the disengagement of the hinge members can be easily effected by merely swinging the said latch about its pivot or fulcrum so that it will clear the hinge.

It is thought to be clear from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that the use of the `device shown and described will effectually prevent sagging of the gate Vinasmuch as the tension or guy wire 14 is attached to the top of the gate near the free or swinging end thereof and any tendency of the gate to sag will, consequently, increase the tension to which the said wire is subjected. The weight 22 will be adjusted upon the tension lever so that it constantly resists thee'ort of the lever to swing toward and over the gate under the strain placed thereon by the weight of the gate so that the gate will remainl plumb throughout its life. It will also fbe 'readily noted that the lever is mounted upon a swiveled fulcrum so that it will readily follow the turning movement of the gate and.`will not interfere in any degree with the opening or closing movement.

In Figs. Gand 7, I show how the tension lever and the parts coperating therewith may be applied to a fence wire without any material change 1n construction. In this emi bodiment of the invention, the swiveled support for the lever is dispensed with and a bracket consisting of a substantially U- shaped body portion 30 and a lateral tongue 31 extending from one side of said body portion is employed, the tongue 31 being secured to the side of the post so that the parallel side members ofthe U-shaped body portion will be substantially parallel with the line of the fence. A roller 32 is mounted upon the fulcrum pin of the lever 33 and this fulcrum pin 34: is inserted through the post 35 and Vthrough the end of the U-shaped body portion 30 so that the vroller will be disposed between the post and the extremity of said body portion, as clearly shown in Fig. 7. A tension roller 36 is mounted between the side wings 87 of the lever at the edge more remote from the fulcrum and the fence wire 38 is carried under the roller 32 and then over the said roller 36 to be engaged over andaround the hook or stud 39 on the upper side of the tension lever. The weight 40 is hung upon the arm of the lever in the same manner as the weight 22 is hung upon the lever in the form previously described. It will be understood, of course, that the lever extends over the fence wire and along the line of the fence away from the post so that the action of the weight 40 is to maintain the fence' wire under tension at all times. n Should live stock run against the fence or from any y other causel the fence wire should be subj ected to an abnormal strain, the force of the counterbalance weight will be temporarily overcome so that the wire will be slackened somewhat and will be' thereby prevented from breaking but the instant the abnormal strain is removed the weight returns the parts to the initial ornormal position, swinging the lever about its fulcrum and thereby causing the tension roller 36 to swing upwardly away from the line of the tension wire and causing the hook 39 to swing rearwardly so that a pull will be exerted upon the wire and it will be heldl taut.

It will be noted that in both applications j ofthe invention the upper web or top of the arm 9 .of the lever is provided with an in-` clined or beveled member .4l between the wire-holding stud or hook and the'tension roller so that the tension wire will not be subjected to a cutting action by the end of said web. It will also be noted that in applying the device to a gate the bracing or tension wire is trained under the outermost tension roller and over the inner tension roller so that the tendency of the lever to swing downwardly under the action of the counterbalance weight will pull upon thc wire and keep the sametaut.

The device is exceedingly simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and may be readily applied to any gate or fence. It is to be understood, however, that the utility of the device is not limited to fences as it may be applied to clothes lines and to other places where it is desired to maintain a line of rope or cable under tension and in a taut condition.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a lever consisting of an arm and parallel wings extending from one end of said arm, the end of the arm adjacent the wings being beveled, a stud on the upper side of the arm adjacent said beveled end, a fulcrum inserted through said wings ec centric to the arm, a line-engaging tension member carried by said wings, and a counterbalance suspended on the arm.

2. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a lever consisting of an arm and spaced wings extending from one end of said arm, a line-securing device on the upper side of the arm, a fulcrum inserted through said wings eccentric to the arm, a line-engaging tension member carried by said wings, and a counterbalance suspended from the arm.

if. A device for the purpose set forth com prlsing a lever consisting of a swinging arm and spaced wings extending from one end of said arm, a fulcrum inserted through said wings eccentric to the arm, a lineengaging tension device interposed between said wings and arranged eccentric to the fulcrum of the lever, a line-securing device on the arm at the end thereof adjacent the wings, and a counterbalance suspended from the arm.

A device for the purpose set forth comprising a lever consisting of a swinging arm and spaced wings extending from one end of said arm, the upper longitudinal edge of the yarm being provided with spaced notches, a fulcrum inserted through said wings eccentric to the arm, a line-engaging tension device interposed between said wings and arranged eccentric to the fulcrum of the lever, a line-securing device on the arm at the end thereof adjacent the wings, and a counterbalance suspended from the army and includlng a loop adapted to lit within the notches in the lever.

5. A device for the purpose set forthcomprising a supporting base, a forked stem swiveled on the base, a lever having spaced tric; to the arm; a line-engaging tension de vice interposed between said Wings and arranged eccentric to the fulcrum of the lever, 10 aline-securing device on the arm at the end thereof adjacent the Wings, and a counterbalance suspended from the arm.

In testimony whereof I alx my signature. t i

DANIEL LooKE. [L Sg Copies `ofg this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. C." 

